I know how much we all love candy. Trust me, I KNOW. I used to sit at home after trick-or-treating and stuff my face full of Hersheys, Snickers, Milky Ways, Dots, sugar, sugar, sugar, more sugar, sugar on top of sugar, and so on. Those candies are so addicting because they’re full of fat, sugar, salt, additives, and artificial ingredients that are scientifically proven to make you want to eat more.

While I’ve made Healthy Homemade Snickerz here on the blog, the nougat takes a bit of time and patience to make, and sometimes, we just ain’t got no time for that. So I made these Healthy Beefcake DIY Protein Bars! They’re basically Snickerz candy bars — they’re full of peanut butter and caramel, they’re coated in chocolate, they’re sweet and satisfying — but without the sugar, corn syrup, hydrogenated oil, and artificial flavorings. Instead, they’re filled with natural, wholesome ingredients, and a punch of protein.

When you combine Healthy Homemade Snickerz Candy Bars + PROTEIN, you get these amazingly delicious Healthy Beefcake DIY Protein Bars. With a soft, chewy, peanut butter fudge base, a layer of peanut-studded caramel, and a rich, decadent, chocolatey shell, you are at a 99.99% chance of having a foodgasm.

These are some treats you can sink your teeth into. Guilt free. These are pure bliss.

Chewy, crunchy, sweet, salty… and secretly good for you. Every single person who has tried these DIY Protein Bars could NOT believe they were healthy. There is nothing healthy tasting about ’em.

You can’t go wrong with Healthy DIY Protein Bars!

These are some simply mouthwatering candy protein bars. As you can see.

Directions:

Notes:

I originally wasn’t going to share the recipe here because I worked so incredibly hard on publishing DIY Protein Bars. But, I understand not having a recipe here can be frustrating. So, I’ll meet you halfway… how does that sound? I’ll show you all the ingredients I use in the recipe. That way, you can determine on your own whether or not the cookbook is for you!

Do not use whey/egg/casein protein! The mixture will be gooey and won’t solidify.

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It’s been almost 2 months since I published the 3rd edition of my DIY Protein Bars Cookbook, and I am SO so happy, proud, and blessed over its success! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — I could NOT have published this cookbook with you guys. I wouldn’t have written it in the first place, but since so many of y’all asked me to write one, I did. Thank you to all of your for your love, support, positivity, and constant encouragement!

If you like this recipe, then you’ll LOVE my DIY Protein Bars Cookbook! With 48 protein bar recipes, you’ll never buy protein bars from the store again. To learn more about the book and see some sneak peeks, see this page!

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Enjoy!

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Be happy.

Live fully.

Eat protein bars.

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– Jess

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I haven’t made these without stevia before but I’m sure you can! I would suggest using 3/4 cup of pure maple syrup in the protein bar base and adding extra protein powder and/or oat flour to compensate for the extra liquid 🙂

Jessica your recipes are divine! I’m (unsuccessfully) trying to wean off of processed sugar and commercial sweets and pursue a clean eating diet, but sometimes I just cannot resist! Thank you for creating so many great recipes to help the process of being more health concious! 🙂 can’t wait to try this!

I don’t use PB2 because it contains added sugar. I use peanut flour, which is basically the same thing but without the salt/sugar. It tastes really good and you can use it in savory applications too (it makes a great PB sauce)! As for using powdered peanut butter in these protein bars, that is a GREAT idea!! I definitely have to try that soon. I made peanut butter frosting with peanut flour though, so I’ll base this assumption on that recipe. I would try replacing the 1/2 cup of peanut butter with 3/4 cup Peanut Flour + ~6 tbs Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk. Mix this together before making the recipe to make sure it has the same consistency of PB. If it’s too dry, add more milk. If it’s too wet, add more flour. Good luck, hope this works out for you!! 🙂
-Jess

I wouldn’t recommend not refrigerating these because the texture gets a little too soft (still good, just really soft). The chocolate helps keep the bar sturdy and in place, but it’s just best when it’s chilled.
But, if you’re camping or something where a fridge isn’t available, then I would say about 2-3 days.
I hope you like the recipe!
-Jess

I recently made these and I’m in heaven! I’m battling between my desire to keep them all for myself, and my boyfriend, friends, family, and professors, who all want me to share. As soon as I made these I knew I had to have your book. I can’t wait to make them all. You’re brilliant.

Your comment SERIOUSLY just made my day!! I’m so glad you like the protein bars 😀 (these were definitely one of my top favorites too). I hope you like my cookbook just as much as (if not more than) these bars 🙂
Thanks Lauren!
-Jess

The only sweetener in the protein bar is stevia. Without the caramel sauce, it won’t be Snickers 😉
And I’m afraid Vega One won’t replace the brown rice protein, it absorbs too much liquid. Only brown rice protein powder works here.
I hope you like the recipe!
-Jess

Yup! Any other nut or seed butter can replace the peanut butter. Sunflower seed butter and tahini have a slight peanut buttery taste, so I think those would work great. I tried soy butter once and wasn’t really a fan, but that’s just me! I hope you like the recipe 😀
-Jess

Hi Leslie! 47 out of the 48 recipes in the cookbook use brown rice protein powder, and 1 uses whey protein powder. Every single recipe is gluten-free, but I use oat flour in the majority of the recipes.
If you avoid oats, I wouldn’t recommend this cookbook for you, I’m sorry! 🙁
-Jess

I would love to win a copy of your DIY protein bars book, It is on my wishlist at amazon just have never bought it. I also want to try Sun Warrior brown rice protein powder. I tried the Sun Warrior blend but I don’t like it. Also this protein ‘snicker’ bar recipe sounds great!

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Welcome to Desserts With Benefits®! My name is Jessica and there’s a good chance I’m eating cake as we speak (healthy cake, of course)! Here at DWB, we use good-for-you ingredients to make balanced treats we can feel good about eating. (Read More »)

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Jessica’s Cookbooks!

DIY Protein Bars: Easy, Healthy, Homemade No-Bake Treats That Are Packed With Protein is a collection of 48 ahhhmazing protein bar recipes!
Print available on Amazon.com.
PDF Download available on Etsy.

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Naughty or Nice: The ULTIMATE Healthy Dessert Cookbook is a collection of 70 delicious, good-for-you recipes that’ll make you ask, “Is this naughty or is this nice?!”
Print and Kindle available on Amazon.com.

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